1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information processing apparatuses, information processing methods, and programs and more particularly to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program that detect an approach of an operation body to a display screen in order to control the display of the display screen.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, it has become physically possible for liquid crystal displays (hereinafter referred to as LCDs) to display small letters and icons due to the improvement of the definition thereof, which has markedly increased the amount of information that can be displayed on a display area. In addition, mobile devices having touch panels for realizing intuitive operability and maximizing the display area the mobile devices are gaining in popularity.
In the case of operation using a touch panel, since a display item is selected by touching a display screen, it is necessary for icons and buttons to be displayed to have certain sizes. When the amount of information that can be displayed on the display area is increased by the improvement of the definition of LCDs as described above, if selectable items are displayed close to each other, the operability is significantly degraded, even if the sizes of letters are large enough to be read. Thus, there has been a problem in that the advantages of high-definition LCDs may not be utilized due to the physical sizes of letters necessary for touch operation.
To tackle this problem, a technique in which input items are collectively displayed in a selected region in order to make a selection operation easier is disclosed (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-54854). In addition, another technique in which an item nearest to the coordinates of an approaching finger is enlarged or subjected to focus display in order to reduce operation mistakes is also disclosed (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-116583).